WW1 vs WW2 Lugers

[Michael Zeleny]

Originally posted by Ron Smith
The "hand fitted" quality of Imperial(WWI) DWM Lugers is superior to Erfurts.

My limited observation suggests that the quality of DWM fit declined somewhat in wartime handguns in comparison to pre-WWI specimens. Has anyone else observed anything like that? Also, did DWM practice anything like Colt's channeling of military contract rejects into commercial markets?

Originally posted by G. van Vlimmeren
Yup, it's literally a case of 'the younger, the better'. Steel quality has been improved a number of times, the last time around 1940.

I hear similar claims made all the time in reference to different kinds of arms. In the case of Colt's Government Models, it is a well-documented matter of incremental improvements in heat treatment of the slide, starting with the breech in the early Thirties, advancing to differential treatment around 1942, and culminating in comprehensive heat treatment in 1947. Is there any comparable timeline available for Lugers?